U.S. patent number 8,202,102 [Application Number 12/887,023] was granted by the patent office on 2012-06-19 for earth terminal.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Hyundai Motor Company, Kia Motors Corporation, Kyungshin Industrial Company, Yura Corporation Co., Ltd.. Invention is credited to Jong Soo Kim, Cheol Hun Lee, Hak-Cheol Lee, Jong-Myung Oh.
United States Patent |
8,202,102 |
Kim , et al. |
June 19, 2012 |
Earth terminal
Abstract
An earth terminal is disclosed. The earth terminal includes a
fixing member fixed to a vehicle body by a bolt, a barrel member to
which an earth wire is inserted and fixed, and a cut member for
connecting the fixing member and the barrel member, in which the
cut member is broken or disengaged by bending. Since the cut member
is bent and broken, if necessary, the earth wire is easily and
conveniently disengaged from the vehicle body to enhance a
disengaging performance of a wire harness.
Inventors: |
Kim; Jong Soo (Gyeonggi-do,
KR), Lee; Cheol Hun (Gyeonggi-do, KR), Lee;
Hak-Cheol (Incheon, KR), Oh; Jong-Myung
(Gyeonggi-do, KR) |
Assignee: |
Hyundai Motor Company (Seoul,
KR)
Kia Motors Corporation (Seoul, KR)
Kyungshin Industrial Company (Incheon, KR)
Yura Corporation Co., Ltd. (Chungbuk, KR)
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Family
ID: |
43925910 |
Appl.
No.: |
12/887,023 |
Filed: |
September 21, 2010 |
Prior Publication Data
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Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
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US 20110104961 A1 |
May 5, 2011 |
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Foreign Application Priority Data
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Nov 2, 2009 [KR] |
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10-2009-0104888 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
439/92 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H01R
11/12 (20130101); H01R 4/185 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
H01R
13/648 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;439/92,95,96,801,287,177,382 ;174/51 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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09092360 |
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Apr 1997 |
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JP |
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2000182688 |
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Jun 2000 |
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JP |
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10-1998-0006640 |
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Mar 1998 |
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KR |
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20-2004-0021434 |
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Oct 2004 |
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KR |
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10-2005-0042334 |
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May 2005 |
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KR |
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Primary Examiner: Gilman; Alexander
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Edwards Wildman Palmer LLP Corless;
Peter F.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. An earth terminal comprising: a fixing member fixed to a vehicle
body by a bolt; a barrel member to which an earth wire is inserted
and fixed; and a cut member for connecting the fixing member and
the barrel member, in which the cut member is broken or disengaged
by bending, wherein the cut member comprises a joint portion formed
at one portion of a surface corresponding to the fixing member and
the barrel member, and a connecting portion formed at the other
portion of the surface corresponding to the fixing member and the
barrel member, and the joint portion is provided at its center
portion thereof with a weak portion which is bent in a
.andgate.-shaped cross-section.
2. The earth terminal of claim 1, wherein the connecting portion
comprises a support piece formed on the fixing member in a
cantilever form, and a connecting piece formed on the barrel
member, wherein the commenting piece is formed in a hook shape to
be connected to the support piece.
3. The earth terminal of claim 2, wherein the support piece
comprises an engaging surface engaged to the engaging piece in an
overlapped manner, and a locking surface supported by a distal end
of the engaging piece.
4. The earth terminal of claim 1, wherein the fixing member further
comprises a rotation preventive portion formed on one side of the
fixing member and bent in a direction perpendicular to the fixing
member.
5. An earth terminal comprising: a fixing member fixed to a vehicle
body by a bolt; a barrel member to which an earth wire is inserted
and fixed; and a cut member for connecting the fixing member and
the barrel member, in which the cut member is broken or disengaged
by bending, wherein the cut member comprises a joint portion formed
at one portion of a surface corresponding to the fixing member and
the barrel member, and a connecting portion formed at the other
portion of the surface corresponding to the fixing member and the
barrel member, and the connecting portion comprises a support piece
formed on the fixing member in a cantilever form, and a connecting
piece formed on the barrel member, wherein the commenting piece is
formed in a hook shape to be connected to the support piece.
6. The earth terminal of claim 5, wherein the support piece
comprises an engaging surface engaged to the engaging piece in an
overlapped manner, and a locking surface supported by a distal end
of the engaging piece.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application claims under 35 U.S.C. .sctn.119(a) the benefit of
Korean Patent Application No. 10-2009-0104888, filed on Nov. 2,
2009 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of
which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, generally, to an earth terminal, and
more particularly, to an earth terminal that is capable of easily
disengaging an earth wire.
2. Background Art
In general, an earth terminal is adapted to connect an electric
wire with the vehicle body of an automobile, and the earth terminal
is fixed to the vehicle body by means of a ground bolt.
FIG. 1 is an exemplary perspective view illustrating an earth
terminal according to the prior art.
Referring to FIG. 1, the earth terminal 10 of the prior art
preferably includes a plate 11 provided with a fastening hole 12 to
which a ground bolt (not shown) is fastened, and a wire barrel 13
formed on one side of the plate 11 and enclosing one end portion of
an earth wire (not shown).
With the earth terminal of the prior art, after the earth wire is
placed on the wire barrel 13, the wire barrel 13 is suitably
crimped to fix the earth wire, and the ground bolt is suitably
fastened to the vehicle body through the fastening hole 12 of the
plate 11.
Preferably, the electric wire can be easily connected to the
vehicle body by using the earth terminal 10.
The above-described earth terminal 10 cannot be disengaged from the
vehicle body unless the ground bolt is removed. In particular,
domestic and foreign vehicle recycling regulations (ELV
Regulations) prescribe that the earth wires should be disengaged
from the vehicle body and be then collected. Accordingly, the
collection of the earth wires is hardly collected.
In addition, according to the earth terminal of the prior art,
since the earth wire is fixed by pressing force of the wire barrel,
in examples where the earth wire is pulled by the external force,
only the earth wire is disengaged from the earth terminal.
Accordingly, there remains a need in the art for an earth terminal
that is capable of easily and conveniently collecting an earth
wire.
The above information disclosed in this the Background section is
only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the
invention and therefore it may contain information that does not
form the prior art that is already known in this country to a
person of ordinary skill in the art.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In preferred aspects, the present invention provides an earth
terminal that is capable of easily and conveniently collecting an
earth wire.
In preferred embodiments, the present invention features an earth
terminal which preferably includes a fixing member suitably fixed
to a vehicle body by a bolt; a barrel member to which an earth wire
is suitably inserted and fixed; and a cut member for suitably
connecting the fixing member and the barrel member, in which the
cut member is broken or disengaged by bending.
According to certain preferred embodiments, the cut member has a
joint portion suitably formed at one portion of a surface
corresponding to the fixing member and the barrel member, and a
connecting portion suitably formed at the other portion of the
surface corresponding to the fixing member and the barrel
member.
Preferably, the joint portion is provided at its center portion
thereof with a weak portion which is bent in .andgate.-shaped
cross-section.
According to certain preferred embodiments, the connecting portion
has a support piece suitably formed on the fixing member in a
cantilever form, and a connecting piece suitably formed on the
barrel member and formed in a hook shape to be connected to the
support piece.
Preferably, the support piece is composed of an engaging surface
engaged to the engaging piece in an overlapped manner, and a
locking surface supported by a distal end of the engaging
piece.
The earth terminal according to another preferred embodiment of the
present invention further includes a rotation preventive portion
formed on one side of the fixing member and preferably bent in a
direction perpendicular to the fixing member.
Preferably, with the configuration of the earth terminal, since the
cut member is suitably bent and broken, if necessary, the earth
wire is easily and conveniently disengaged from the vehicle body to
enhance a disengaging performance of a wire harness.
It is understood that the term "vehicle" or "vehicular" or other
similar term as used herein is inclusive of motor vehicles in
general such as passenger automobiles including sports utility
vehicles (SUV), buses, trucks, various commercial vehicles,
watercraft including a variety of boats and ships, aircraft, and
the like, and includes hybrid vehicles, electric vehicles, plug-in
hybrid electric vehicles, hydrogen-powered vehicles and other
alternative fuel vehicles (e.g. fuels derived from resources other
than petroleum).
As referred to herein, a hybrid vehicle is a vehicle that has two
or more sources of power, for example both gasoline-powered and
electric-powered.
The above features and advantages of the present invention will be
apparent from or are set forth in more detail in the accompanying
drawings, which are incorporated in and form a part of this
specification, and the following Detailed Description, which
together serve to explain by way of example the principles of the
present invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present
invention will be more apparent from the following detailed
description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in
which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an exemplary earth
terminal of he prior art;
FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating an earth terminal
according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a plan view of an earth terminal according to a preferred
embodiment of the present invention; and
FIG. 4 is a side view of an earth terminal according to a preferred
embodiment of the present invention.
It should be understood that the appended drawings are not
necessarily to scale, presenting a somewhat simplified
representation of various preferred features illustrative of the
basic principles of the invention. The specific design features of
the present invention as disclosed herein, including, for example,
specific dimensions, orientations, locations, and shapes will be
determined in part by the particular intended application and use
environment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
In preferred aspects, the present invention features an earth
terminal comprising a fixing member fixed to a vehicle body by a
bolt, a barrel member to which an earth wire is inserted and fixed,
and a cut member for connecting the fixing member and the barrel
member.
In one embodiment, the cut member is broken or disengaged by
bending.
Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be
described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
The aspects and features of the present invention and methods for
achieving the aspects and features will be apparent by referring to
the embodiments to be described in detail with reference to the
accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not
limited to the embodiments disclosed hereinafter, but can be
implemented in diverse forms. The matters defined in the
description, such as the detailed construction and elements, are
nothing but specific details provided to assist those of ordinary
skill in the art in a comprehensive understanding of the invention,
and the present invention is only defined within the scope of the
appended claims. In the entire description of the present
invention, the same drawing reference numerals are used for the
same elements across various figures.
The configuration of an earth terminal according to preferred
embodiments of the present invention are now described in detail
with reference to FIGS. 2 to 4.
Preferably, the earth terminal 100 according to preferred
embodiments of the present invention includes, for example as shown
in FIG. 2, a fixing member 110 suitably fixed to a vehicle body by
means of a bolt (not shown), a barrel member 120 suitably receiving
and fixing an earth wire (not shown), and a cut member 130 suitably
connecting the fixing member 110 and the barrel member 120, in
which the cut member being bent and cut, if necessary, in order to
conveniently disengage an earth wire from the vehicle body.
In particular preferred embodiments, when the earth wire is
suitably disengaged from the vehicle body through the earth
terminal 100 of the present invention, a weak portion of the cut
portion 130 is broken by pulling the earth wire or vending the
barrel member 120, to which the earth wire is suitably fixed, from
the fixing member 110 in a vertical direction. Accordingly, as a
result, the fixing member 110 is suitably detached from the barrel
member 120, so that the earth wire can be suitably disengaged from
the vehicle body.
The earth terminal 100 having the configuration as described above
is described in detail with reference to the accompanying
drawings.
According to certain preferred embodiments of the present
invention, the fixing member 110 is suitably adapted to be
connected to the vehicle body, for example as shown in FIG. 2, and
is suitably provided at a portion thereof with a fastening hole 111
for fastening a bolt. Preferably, the fixing member 110 has a
rotation preventive portion 112, vertically vent in a downward
direction, for suitably positioning the fixing member 110 and
suitably preventing rotation of the fixing member 110.
According to other preferred embodiment of the present invention,
the barrel member 120 is suitably adapted to fix the earth wire,
and has on an upper portion thereof a wire barrel 121 for suitably
pressing the earth wire in an enclosing manner to fix the earth
wire.
Preferably, the cut member 130 is suitably adapted to connect the
fixing member 110 and the barrel member 120, as shown in FIGS. 3
and 4, and, simultaneously, to be bent to cut the cut member, if
necessary. Further, in certain preferred embodiments, the cut
member 130 has a joint portion 131 suitably formed at one portion
of a surface corresponding to the fixing member 110 and the barrel
member 120, and a connecting portion 132 suitably formed at the
other portion of the surface corresponding to the fixing member 110
and the barrel member 120.
Preferably, the joint portion 131 connects integrally one
corresponding side of the fixing member 110 and the barrel member
120. In particular preferred embodiments, the joint portion 131
connects the fixing member 110 and the barrel member 120 in a
longitudinal direction.
Preferably, the joint portion 131 is provided at its center portion
thereof with a weak portion 131a for bending and cutting the joint
portion. In particular, the weak portion 131a is suitably formed by
bending the center portion of the joint portion 131 of the weak
portion 131a in a .andgate.-shaped cross-section.
Preferably, that is, according to preferred embodiments of the
present invention, since the portion which is bent in the
.andgate.-shaped cross-section is suitably applied with a tensile
force and a compression force at an outer portion and an inner
portion, the weak portion 131a is suitably applied with stress.
Accordingly, in this instance, if the weak portion 131a is
repeatedly bent in a vertical direction, the bent portion is
suitably broken by the stress applied to the bent portion.
According to further preferred embodiments, the connecting portion
132 is suitably adapted to connect the other corresponding sides of
the fixing member 110 and the barrel member 120 to reinforce the
connecting strength of the fixing member 110 and the barrel member
120.
In particular preferred embodiments, the connecting portion 132 has
a support piece 132a that is suitably formed on the other side of
the fixing member 110 and extending from the side of the joint
portion 131 in a cantilever form, and a connecting piece 132b
suitably formed on the other side of the barrel member 120
corresponding to the support piece 132a and having a hook shape to
be suitably connected to the support piece 132a.
Preferably, the support piece 132a is constituted of an engaging
surface 132a-1 and a locking surface 132a-2 which are bent in a
stepped form, in which the engaging surface 132a-1 is suitably
engaged to the engaging piece 132b in an overlapped manner, and the
locking surface 132a-2 is supported by a distal end of the engaging
piece 132b.
In further exemplary embodiments, consequently, the connecting
portion 132 suitably prevents the engaging piece 132b from being
moved in a vertical direction in a state by closely overlapping the
engaging piece 132b with the engaging surface 132a-1, and prevents
the distal end of the engaging piece 132b from being disengaged in
a rearward direction by supporting the locking surface 132a-2.
Preferably, the cut member 130 integrally connects the fixing
member 110 and the barrel member 120 through the joint portion 131,
and is broken by bending the cut member 130. In further preferred
embodiments, the strength of the fixing member 110 and the barrel
member 120 are suitably reinforced by the connecting portion 132 to
maintain the appearance thereof.
The operation of the earth terminal 100 having the configuration
described above according to certain exemplary embodiments of the
present invention is described herein.
In a first exemplary embodiment, the earth wire (not shown) is
suitably inserted in the wire barrel 121 formed on the barrel
member 120, and then the wire barrel 121 is suitably pressed to fix
the earth wire.
Preferably, after that, in order to fix the earth terminal 100, the
bolt (not shown) is suitably fastened to the vehicle body through
the fastening hole 111 of the fixing member 110 to suitably fix the
fixing member 110 to the vehicle body.
Accordingly, the rotation preventive portion 112 formed on the
fixing member 110 is suitably supported on the side of the vehicle
body or is suitably inserted into a hole (not shown) formed on the
vehicle body to prevent the fixing member 110 from rotate.
Preferably, the installing operation is completed by fixing a
plurality of earth wires connected to a wire harness (not shown) to
the vehicle body by using the earth terminal 100.
According to further exemplary embodiments of the present
invention, after that, in a case in which the earth wire is
suitably disengaged, the cut member 130 is bent or cut by pulling
the earth wire in the upward direction or the bending the barrel
member 120 in the upward direction.
Accordingly, if the cut member 130 is suitably bent, the engaging
piece 132b of the engaging portion 132 is suitably rotated around
the support piece 132a and is suitably released from the engaged
state. Simultaneously, the bent portion of the weak portion 11a of
the joint portion 131 is broken by the stress due to fatigue
limit.
Accordingly, in further preferred embodiments, as a result, the cut
member 130 is suitably bent and then broken, so that the fixing
member 110 and the barrel member 120 are suitably separated to
conveniently disengage the earth wire.
Although preferred embodiment of the present invention have been
described for illustrative purposes herein, those skilled in the
art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and
substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and
spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying
claims.
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